1. Flash Keys: last eight, four hours
There’s no flying under the radar for Madison Keys any more at Australian Open 2018, though we’re big fans of her method: the less time you spend on court, the less attention comes your way. And it doesn’t get much quicker than four hours and 10 minutes for eight sets of Grand Slam tennis.
This really has been some surge from the 2015 AO semifinalist: 260 points won, 100 winners struck, a 41-minute match win to her name and 74 per cent of returns in – a critical component of her twin threat when coupled with that easy power in the rally. And it’s all the sweeter for the 22-year-old having missed last year’s Australian Open while she was recovering after wrist surgery.
“It made me really sad watching it, so I only saw a handful of matches,” she said after Australian Open after her 6-3 6-2 trouncing of No.8 seed Caroline Garcia. “I’m so glad to be here rather than sitting at home in a cast!”
But while we know Keys has got a quickstep, now we’ll find out if she’s ready to slow dance. If any player is going to force her to take the long road, it’s her last eight opponent: Angelique Kerber. The 2016 champion downed Su-Wei Hsieh with a dogged display over two hours and eight minutes – exactly one hour longer than Keys’ win in the day’s opening match on RLA.
2. Aussies well and truly in the mixed. And the juniors. And the wheelchairs, the quads…
Sure, the exits of Ash Barty on Saturday and Nick Kyrgios on Sunday may have ended Aussie interest in the singles draws, but there’s still plenty of reason to don your green and gold before heading down to Melbourne Park this week.
First up, there’s the semi-charmed run of Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt in the men’s doubles – one on the verge of hanging up his racquet, the other leaving us scratching our heads as to why he ever called it a day. The last-action heroes face Colombian No.11 seeds Juan Cabal and Roberto Farah for a place in the semifinals later this week.
And then there’s the mixed doubles. Groth may have lost alongside Sam Stosur – Sam squared, if you will – but fellow Aussie wildcards Storm Sanders and Marc Polmans earned their spot in the quarterfinals in style, ousting top seeds Latisha Chan and Jamie Murray 7-6(8) 6-4 on Show Court 2.
Sanders and Polmans will face either Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain and Brazil’s Marcus Demoliner, or Hao-Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei and New Zealander Michael Venus on Wednesday.
Alexander Crnokrak and Stefan Storch will bid to join Rinky Hijikata in the third round of the boys’ singles on Tuesday, with Amber Marshall also in second-round action in the girls’ draw. Adam Kellerman is in action in the men’s wheelchair doubles, while Dylan Alcott and Heath Davidson are back in quad action – though Davidson may have some competition for his spot alongside Alcott in the doubles…
3. Anything Pou can do
Breaking news: Roger Federer is really good at tennis. So good, in fact, that even his mishits and points he loses are worthy of the highlight reel.Don’t believe us? Perhaps you missed the defending champion’s straight-sets victory over Marton Fucsovics. Your honour, submitted into evidence, Exhibit A:
And if it pleases the court, Exhibit B:
It’s good, Roger, but does it beat Mark Philippoussis’s effort in Sunday’s legends doubles? We’re saying the Aussie’s clean winner just edges it, but judge for yourself.
4. Sorry, sis
Move over, Serena and Venus: there's a new sibling rivalry in town. Women's doubles No.1 seeds Chan Latisha and Andrea Sestini Hlavackova are though to the quarterfinals after defeating Chan Hao-Ching and Katarina Srebotnik 6-3 6-2, the elder Chan sister getting the better of lil sis out on MCA.
"We were playing full-time together for two, three years, so playing against her was really tough," Latisha Chan said. "We’re sharing a room, and a bathroom, and last night we ate together. But we had to be professional out of respect for each other, the other players and the crowd. I hope my sister doesn’t hate me after this! We grew up together and our coach is our dad, so it’s basically the family business – I think he was in the player lounge watching on TV with some popcorn."
The Chans came within one round of another face-off at the tournament in the mixed doubles, but it was not to be – Storm Sanders and Marc Polmans saw to that (Missed it? Scroll up…).
5. Czech mates?
Barbora Strycova was less than impressed. When her coach Tomas Krupa texted to let her know he had decided to accept an offer to work with Karolina Pliskova in 2018, the then-world No.25 said of her Fed Cup teammate: “our relationship is zero."
“I was very sad, especially because of the way I learned it,” Strycova wrote in a Facebook post to her fans in October. “I get that Karolina wants him because he’s a good coach.”
So of course, their first meeting since the affair should come in the first month of the season, their first showdown at a Grand Slam: Pliskova bidding to reach her second Australian Open quarterfinal, Strycova her first. Ahead of the clash, the No.20 seed said the issue was in the past:
Still, must have been a fleetingly sweet moment for Strycova as she claimed the 68-minute opening set under the watchful eye of her new coach David Kotyza – coincidentally, the man Pliskova parted ways with last September. But it is the former world No.1 who will face Simona Halep in the quarterfinals after battling back for a 7-6(5) 6-3 6-2 victory.
